Trevor Brooking signed off from his temporary stint in charge of West Ham by insisting the club will not make any knee-jerk reactions to relegation from the Premiership.

Trevor Brooking signed off from his temporary stint in charge of West Ham by insisting the club will not make any knee-jerk reactions to relegation from the Premiership.

The Hammers' draw at Birmingham yesterday was not enough to avoid the drop as Bolton beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at home.

The London club were bottom at Christmas and despite a late rally were relegated with 42 points.

The club must face up to life in Division One, with a number of highly-rated stars, such as Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe and Michael Carrick, not to mention pros such as Trevor Sinclair and David James, expected to be sold to make up an estimated &#xA3;20m shortfall in income.

Brooking said: "I don't think we will have the same squad at the start of next season.

"There is now a &#xA3;15m-plus gap and we have got to reduce our wage bill.

"The players have to see what this means to them and talk it through with the club and their families. We've got to be sensible and cautious."

Manager Glenn Roeder, who will undergo surgery this week following the minor stroke he suffered after the game against Middlesbrough on Easter Monday, is to be consulted over any changes. Brooking now returns to work as a TV pundit.

Birmingham manager Steve Bruce, whose team were tipped for a swift return to the First Division but secured their safety last month, said: "We were a minute and a half off finishing 10th, which would have been our best position since 1958. But I am just delighted we got a point. There was a 20-minute spell when you saw what West Ham are all about."

Jermain Defoe wasted a good early chance for the Hammers and the miss was compounded by news of goals from Per Frandsen and Jay-Jay Okocha for Bolton which meant there was nothing West Ham could do to save themselves unless Middlesbrough fought back. West Ham's hopes were raised when Les Ferdinand stooped to head in Joe Cole's cross allied to news that Michael Ricketts had cut the Trotters' advantage to one.

But Birmingham were determined to end an excellent first year in the Premiership in style and equalised when Stephen Clemence slotted the ball through to Geoff Horsfield, whose shot looped over David James.

The Blues were not finished and two minutes from time went ahead as Stern John stuck out a boot at the far post to turn in Robbie Savage's cross.